Love at Last Sign
by Crimson Knights
Summary: Have you ever imagined what kind of life you might be living if you were to lose your vision one day? As Natsume was struggling to go against his painful fate, a mute girl who was clutching onto her dear life reached out to him. She was dying while he was going blind. She saved him while he... fell in love with her at last sign.
1. First Sign

**Love at Last Sign**

Have you ever imagined what kind of life you might be living if you were to lose your vision one day?

It sounds scary, right? I _am_ no exception either.

I _was_ scared...

I _was_ afraid of going blind soon. What kind of life would I be living? All I would see was plain darkness. What else?

As I _was_ struggling to go against my painful fate, a mute girl who _was_ clutching onto her dear life reached out to me. I bet you are thinking about the irony right now.

She _was_ dying while I _was_ going blind. She saved me while I...

_... fell in love_ with her at _last sign_.

**************************Disclaimer: I don't own either Gakuen Alice or its characters, except for this story plot.**

* * *

First Sign

His eyes suddenly flew open and the young lad found himself staring at a plain white ceiling. The swirling sound of the ceiling fan and the beeping sound of the machines were the only things he could hear clearly. He turned his head aside and saw his mother leaning her back against the back rest of the chair and was fast asleep. He did not remember seeing dark round rings at the bottom of her lower eyelids and wrinkles at her forehead. How long had he been asleep?

"Mum?" he called out and shook his mother's hand.

His mother inhaled deeply and slowly opened her eyes. She stared at her son blankly and after she had registered the situation before her into her mind, she let out a cry of joy.

"Natsume! You're awake!" She stood up and embraced her son tightly. "How are you feeling, Honey?"

"Tired," he replied.

"You should take a rest," she said tenderly to her son and gently ran her fingers through his messy black hair. "While I get the doctor."

His mother removed her hand from his head and picked up her handbag. After giving her beloved son a kiss on his forehead, she walked away.

Natsume shifted his gaze back to the ceiling. Questions were running through his mind like a windmill. Questions like 'how did I get here?', 'why am I here?' and 'what am I doing here?' were making him even more tired than before.

'Tap!'

His breath hitched for a moment. The noise sounded so close to him. Was there someone else in the ward, other than him? Maybe not.

'Tap! Tap!'

Curiosity got the better of him as he lifted his head a little higher and squinted. There was really someone else in the ward. A sickly-looking girl was sitting on her hospital bed, staring at him with a weak smile. Her fingers tapped on the side bar next to her bed, creating the tapping sound again.

Natsume continued to observed this noisy finger-tapping girl as she began to put her hands together and made weird patterns with her fingers. Finally, her hands stopped moving and beamed at him. However, he could only stare questionably at her.

Feeling the strained on his neck, he rested his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. After awhile, he fell asleep.

Natsume heard soft murmurs around him. He opened his eyes again and saw five people standing next to his bed talking softly to one another. He coughed to get their attention and as soon as they turned to look at him, he somewhat regretted his action. Two of his friends, Koko and Kitsuneme, jumped right on him and cheered loudly. They hugged him and kept sayings words like 'I miss you' and 'thank goodness, you're fine'.

"Stop it, guys. You're going to choke Natsume," another friend of his, Ruka Nogi, chided and pulled the two boys away from him.

Kitsuneme pouted and exclaimed, "Natsume is finally awake! We should celebrate this moment!"

"But you're disturbing another patient in the ward," a girl who was standing next to Ruka interrupted.

"Imai!" Koko groaned. "That girl doesn't mind it at all. Look at her! She is still sleeping."

Koko pointed at the sleeping patient whose bed was at the direct opposite from Natsume's bed.

"Correction, you will disturb her," the girl, Hotaru Imai, said harshly but in a softer tone.

"Cool it, children. The nurses are glaring at us," Natsume's mother interjected and turned to her confused son. "How are you feeling now, Honey?"

Natsume nodded silently and tried to sit up. With the aid of his friends, he finally sat up and leaned his back against the pillow. He looked around the ward and his eyes fixated at the sleeping patient at the other side of the ward. That patient was the noisy finger-tapping girl.

"Do you need some water?" his mother spoke again, gaining his attention.

Natsume did not reply to her question but instead, he said, "Why am I here?"

There was silence. Natsume stared hard at his three friends, his class chairperson whom he wondered why she was here in the first place, and his mother.

"Tell me," he demanded impatiently. "What happened to me?"

There was another brief moment of silence until Ruka spoke up, "You have forgotten, haven't you?"

Natsume continued to look at Ruka, puzzled.

"Hyuuga," Hotaru said with a serious expression. "You met with a road accident last Tuesday and landed up here."

Just then, he remembered that fateful accident. He was cycling to school. In fact, he had cycled to school every morning. Along the way, his vision had turned blurry and then, turned blanked. Everywhere was in total darkness. He could not see a thing but he could still hear the honking and beeping of the road vehicles. He remembered stopping abruptly to rub his eyes and suddenly hearing someone called out to him, telling him to watch out. However, it was too late. Something had hit him with a lot of force and he remembered being thrown into the air. Then, he had blacked out.

"Natsume, you're diagnosed with a hereditary eyesight problem," Natsume's mother added on. "Just like your father, your eyesight will deteriorate and you will lose your vision... soon."

His friends looked down sadly. Though he looked terribly fine after hearing that, he was actually horrified inside. Of course, he should be scared to lose his eyesight. His eyes meant everything to him. He was training himself to be an excellent photographer and landscape artist, and even dreamt of becoming a motorcyclist in the future. He believed that whatever his mother had said was a huge lie.

"The doctor said that you will need someone who is willing to donate his or her corneas to you but the corneas have to be compatible," his mother continued with tears welling up in her eyes. "I have tried to donate mine but the doctors said that mine is not suitable for your eyes."

"Koko, Kitsuneme and I have tried to do it too," Ruka mumbled. "But we failed as well."

"Then, we will have to wait," Koko's voice quivered slightly.

Natsume looked away and muttered, "You guys are stupid. You don't have to do this. Let me go blind and die like my father."

"Natsume!" Ruka snapped and frowned at him. "Stop being so pessimistic. We are trying to help you!"

"What if you guys lose your eyesights too? Aren't I the one who should be responsible for this problem?" Natsume argued. "Stop being childish. This is my problem so I will solve it myself."

Hotaru narrowed her eyes at him and said, "Aren't you the childish one? Your friends were trying to save your eyes. They were willing to sacrifice their eyesights for you. Yet, you called them childish. What is wrong with you, Hyuuga?"

"Imai," Ruka cut in before Hotaru had the chance to continue lashing out at Natsume.

Natsume grunted and lay back down on his bed. He turned his body to another side where he could not see anyone. He felt better this way.

His mother touched his shoulder and whispered, "Honey..."

He shrugged her hand off and groaned, "Noisy. I want to sleep."

His mother withdrew her hand to her chest and bit her lips tightly. She nodded gently and picked up her handbag which was lying next to him.

"Then, I will get going," she spoke softly and walked away, leaving the teens alone.

Hotaru picked up her schoolbag too and grunted, "Hyuuga, as your class chairperson, I am very disappointed with your attitude. Is that how you treat your mother? How rude."

Without saying any further, she picked up her bag and walked off too. Kitsuneme felt the atmosphere was turning cold at each passing second so he tried to make things better.

"Hey, guys. Imai must be having the woman's thing so that is why she was... agitated," he said with a weak laugh.

His laughter slowly died down when he realised that nobody was following him and his little joke. Just as expected, Natsume was still not responding. Kitsuneme clicked his tougue and picked up his schoolbag too.

"I think Natsume needs a break now. Let's go," he whispered to them and dragged his feet out of the ward without saying farewell.

Ruka and Koko looked at each other and sighed heavily. After saying their farewells to Natsume who did not bother to respond to them, they left quietly.

The young lad pulled the cover over his head and squeezed his eyes shut. He saw nothing but darkness. He was scared. He was so terrified that he could not help but to think about his lost vision of his future.

Was that how it felt like when a person goes blind?

* * *

**Hi guys, thanks for reading '****Love at Last Sign**'. Please review. I don't mind criticisms but they have to be constructive. A simple review is more than welcomed! Thank you! :)

******************I hope you can also read my other fanfics too! :D**


	2. Second Sign

**Love at Last Sign**

* * *

Second Sign

"I see. You want to take a look outside the window."

There was a short pause.

"Oh, is this position okay for you? Do you want me to shift your wheelchair a little to your left?"

There was another pause.

"Can you see the view now?"

Natsume woke up upon hearing all those irritating noises in his ward. He pulled down the cover which was covering his face for the whole night and stole a glimpse of a nurse and a girl next to the window. The girl was that noisy finger-tapping girl, or so he labeled as her as one. The girl nodded happily to the nurse and her hands touched the window ledge as she looked out of the window with a beam.

"I shall take my leave then, Sakura. I will be back after fifteen minutes. You can't stay here for too long," the nurse said. "Is that alright?"

With her eyes glued to the scenery outside the ward, the girl nodded again and the nurse walked away with a clipboard under her arms.

Natsume observed how the girl made weird and funny faces while she was looking outside the window. He began to wonder if there was really something interesting beyond this boring ward.

Upon thinking of that, he grew jealous of that girl. She could see and enjoy every single little thing within her sight, even if she were to be discharged sooner or later. However, his eyesight would be gone anytime soon and the thing he would only live in was the world of darkness.

"Stop grinning like a stupid donkey," he grunted loudly, earning a curious look from her.

She smiled and waved enthusiastically to him. Then, she pointed outside the window frantically and clapped her hands a fews times. She looked very excited and that irritated him further. He looked away and made a disgusted face which could not be seen by her.

'Tap! Tap!'

It was that annoying sound again that startled him the day before.

'Tap! Tap! Tap!'

He turned to glare at her and growled, "Stop it, noisy girl. Are you communicating with aliens or sending Morse codes to the military forces?"

She stared at him with an amused look on her face and her hands began to move in a messy manner like the ones she did the day before. After she was done with her hand-finger-dance, she giggled softly and gleefully. He narrowed his eyes at her and groaned. She really did look like a donkey to him.

"What do you want?" he asked tiredly and rested his chin on his palm.

The girl did another weird movements with her hands and grinned again. She then pointed outside the window and clapped her hands happily again.

Natsume rubbed his chin and asked, "Is there something interesting outside?"

The girl nodded.

"Is it like a murder or a crime scene?"

She shook her head.

"Then, forget it."

She gave him a horrified look and shook her head vigorously. She turned and took a look outside again. Her eyes seemed to shine and her hazel brown hair seemed to glister under the morning sunlight. Natsume carefully got out of bed and walked slowly towards the window. He looked out and saw a beautiful scenery right before his eyes. The sky was painted golden in colour with light pinkish hues at the upper portion of the sky. It was really breathtaking.

Just then, a newly-wedded couple caught his eye. He could tell that the male was a doctor as he was wearing a white doctor coat and was holding onto a bouquet of red roses while the female was his spouse as she was wearing a long white wedding gown and wrapping her arms around the doctor's right arm. Everyone in the garden below was joyous and gave the couple their wishes.

'Tap!'

Startled by that sound, Natsume shifted his attention back to the girl next to him. She was staring at him with an innocent look. As she cupped her cheeks adorably, she gave him a toothy grin with a light blush slowly appearing on her oval-shaped face.

He knew what she was thinking. He knew what kind of thoughts a typical girl would have after seeing this cheesy scene. It was just as expected.

Then, he spoke to her in a rather soft voice, "Forget it, little girl. A girl like you who looks like a donkey won't ever get married, even when she reaches fifty years old."

He knew this comment would hurt her but he did not care. He was plain jealous. Whatever he saw right at this moment would be gone. Everything would be gone. His life would be in total darkness.

Indeed, she was hurt. She looked down sadly and her tears were filling up in her brown eyes. Her index fingers pressed against each other while her lips formed a thin straight line, as if she was forcing herself not to cry.

Natsume knew that he had said something very bad to her but he did not care at all.

-:-:-:-

His friends were here again. This time were only Ruka and Koko. They were sitting on the stools next to his bed with a small stack of papers in their arms.

Ruka carefully placed the papers on a small side desk and said, "Imai wanted to pass these papers to you yesterday but she..."

"I know," Natsume interrupted him. "She was pissed off."

There was an awkward silence until Koko suddenly spoke, "She is asleep again."

"Who?" Ruka stared blankly at Koko.

"It's that brunette," Koko replied as he pointed at the girl in the ward. "She's always sleeping whenever we're here to see Natsume."

"Nope. She was awake just now," Natsume muttered. "And she is pretty annoying."

"How annoying can she get?" Ruka chuckled and patted Natsume's shoulder. "I don't think she can squeal and squeak like some other girls do in school."

"You may not know," Natsume said with a scowl. "Her squeal might be louder than the explosion in Hiroshima many years ago."

"You know that is impossible, Natsume."

"What is impossible for girls?" Natsume challenged.

His two friends stared at him in puzzlement and then looked at each other.

Koko turned to look at Natsume with his eyebrows knitted together and said in a soft voice, "I think you don't know a thing about her."

"Why should I know a thing about her? She is a stupid donkey."

"Natsume," Koko whispered. "She is a mute."

Natsume rolled his eyes and mocked, "Oh, she is a giraffe now."

"It's true. Didn't you notice when she was awake earlier? According to your ward nurse, she uses sign languages to communicate with the doctors and nurses," Ruka explained.

Natsume looked at the sleeping girl with no expression written on his face.

So, all these while, that girl was trying to communicate with him using sign languages which he could not comprehend at all.

"And they said that none of her family members visits her since the day she was admitted into the hospital," Ruka continued.

"Why is that so?" Natsume questioned.

Ruka looked uneasy while Koko turned to look at the girl with a pitiful face.

"She is a cancer patient and has... a few more days to live."

Just then, Natsume wished that he could take back his words. But once said, those hurtful words cannot be taken back, even when he turned fifty years old.

* * *

**Hi guys, thanks for reading up to Chapter 2.**

******Next, I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 1. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D**

**************Here are the reviewers:**

******- Mystique0831  
- edwardelric108_  
- _crimson hazel hearts  
- smiley  
- AnimeMango  
- sakura-san29  
- sad  
- funkyhusky  
- lisaOpine  
**

**********Lastly, ****I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story. I am so touched! :'D**

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**************Before you leave this page, don't forget to leave a review! I might update faster if you guys do! Thank you! ;)**


	3. Third Sign

**Love at Last Sign**

* * *

Third Sign

The girl was awake again in the following morning. Her complexion was worse than the day before and Natsume guessed that it was got to do with the cancer. She looked very pale and weak but there was one thing that amused him- she was smiling radiantly to the nurses as if she was not suffering from cancer at all. If only he could be that optimistic, he would not be in a bad mood for three days.

She was dying whereas he could continue living. God spared his life but He would be taking hers. She would not be able to experience marriage while he could do so in the future. However, there was one thing in common between them- they would not be able to see the world in the future.

Life was indeed unfair.

"Hey," he called out to that girl after the nurses left.

The girl stared blankly at him for a moment and then she waved to him. She did the same strange hand movements again and waited for his response.

"I don't know what you're trying to hint to me," Natsume muttered and rubbed his forehead. "Can you at least write something on a piece of paper so that I can read what you want to tell me?"

The girl looked around and shrugged. There were no paper and pencil in the ward. Natsume sighed and thought hard. How was he going to understand her? He did not even understand sign languages!

"Forget it. Please try to do something which is understandable to me," he suggested.

The girl rubbed her chin and thought very hard. Suddenly, she flicked her fingers and started doing a few actions. First, she pointed at Natsume. Then, she put her hands together and separated them like a opening a book. She placed her left hand in front of her lips to create a duck-like shaped 'beck' as she opened and closed the gap in between her thumb and her other fingers.

Natsume immediately understood what she meant and asked, "So, do you want me to tell you a story?"

The girl nodded.

"How old are you now? Only little children hear bedtime stories."

Upon hearing that, she pouted.

"Okay, fine. What do you like to hear?"

She pointed at him excitedly.

"Me?"

She nodded again.

"Why do you want to hear about me?" he asked curiously. "I'm just a stranger."

She shook her head with a smile.

"Oh, so you think that I am someone close to you," he teased but in a monotonous voice. "Very interesting."

The girl immediately waved her hands in the air, disagreeing to what he had just said. Her face also turned slightly pinkish and that made Natsume want to tease her further.

"I am Natsume Hyuuga, fourteen years old and currently studying in Alice Academy," he started introducing himself.

He was not afraid to share those information, which he usually kept to himself unless the situation forbade him to do so, with her because there was no way for her to be telling them to anyone. Firstly, she was a mute. Secondly, she was going to die. Thirdly, she still looked like a stupid donkey to him.

"My father had passed away three years ago because of an unforeseen accident and my mother is now a sole breadwinner. I have a little sister whose name is Aoi Hyuuga. She is very annoying, just like every little sister in the world."

The girl frowned at the way he called his sister 'annoying'. That should not be the way. Little sisters are adorable and fun to be with. She shook her head and made a cross sign with her two index fingers. Natsume rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue at her.

"So, tell me about yourself then. And please use simple sign languages," he said. "By the way, it is not like I want to know anything about you but since I have told you about me, it is your turn to share yours."

The girl beamed and started on her introduction. She used very simple sign languages to communicate with Natsume and very soon, he knew some things about her. For example, he knew that she was the same age as him, loved eating tangerines, liked playing dodgeball and hated Mathematics subject. It was like playing charred with each other; she did the actions while Natsume tried to guess the words or phrases.

Suddenly, the girl raised her hands and waved to him, signaling him to pause the 'game' for a moment. She looked as if she was in pain as her face crumpled and her hands were pressing the two sides of her head. Her hand reached out to the red emergency button next to her and pressed it. She lay back down on her bed and curled herself into a ball.

Natsume stared at her with wide eyes and asked worriedly, "Are you all right? What happened?"

The girl did not respond to him at all. She remained in that position until a few nurses attended to her. One of the nurses took out a syringe and japed her arm. Within a few seconds, the girl calmed down and fell asleep.

When the nurses were about to leave the ward, Natsume called out to one of them and queried, "Will she be all right?"

The nurse nodded and replied, "Yes, she will. We have just injected her with Morphine."

-:-:-:-

"She's asleep again," Koko muttered and was giving that same pitiful look on his face. "Having cancer at such a young age is tough and sad."

"Don't disturb her. She has been injected with Morphine," Natsume said in a low voice.

Kitsuneme gaped at Natsume and exclaimed, "Morphine? Is that some kind of powerful drugs which usually acts as painkillers?"

"Yes," Ruka answered Kitsuneme. "However, this drug will be useless to her body sooner or later. It will be worst if the doctors decide to give her something more powerful than Morphine later."

"Do you mean that the doctors might double the dosage of the Morphine?"

"Maybe so, but her body would be harmed."

"Don't worry," Natsume interjected. "She is going to die soon. The current amount of Morphine she is taking right now should be enough for her to last till her last breath."

His three friends hung their heads low and Natsume began to wonder why they cared so much about her. She was neither related to them in any ways. She was just a stranger whom they met in the same ward as him. He did not know that his friends were so caring for an unknown girl before. He shook his head and exhaled deeply at the thought of them trying to flirt with her before her impending death.

"What a poor thing," Ruka mumbled very softly, making the boys turned and looked at him questionably.

Natsume had heard his comment and said with a small smile, "No, I don't think so. By the way, I think she is the best person I have ever seen in my life."

The boys gasped. It was their first time Natsume complimented someone, especially a girl!

Koko held onto Natsume's arm and asked worriedly, "Na... Natsume? Are you home?"

As he ignored Koko's words, he stole a glance at the sleeping girl and said, "Despite her disease, she is always smiling and tries to brighten everyone's day. Because of her, I feel like I was being too pessimistic for the past few days. Maybe I should be like her. I should spent my time well before I lose my eyesight and cannot see the true beauty of the world. Unlike her, there is still hope for me in the future."

This time, the young boys' eyes began to water after listening to Natsume's short speech. Because of that girl, Natsume had changed. He was no longer unhappy and frustrated. He had finally accepted his sickness and moved on.

While they were staring at that girl, they were wondering what kind of girl she was to have such a huge influence on Natsume within just one day.

* * *

**Hi guys, thanks for reading up to Chapter 3.**

******Next, I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 2. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D**

**************Here are the reviewers:**

******- Mystique0831_  
- _edwardelric108  
- heart12  
- sakura-san29  
- adrienna22  
- crimson hazel hearts  
- CeciliaWinnifer  
- lisaOpine  
**

**********Lastly, ****I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story. I am so touched! :'D**

* * *

**************Before you leave this page, don't forget to leave a review! I might update faster if you guys do! Thank you! ;)**


	4. Forth Sign

**Love at Last Sign**

* * *

Forth Sign

_"Her dream is to be the best teacher in the world. She wants to help those children who are also handicapped like her. She wishes to get married before she turns twenty-five years old. She hopes to have a great husband and five children."_

She remembered how ambitious she used to be. Though she could not speak, she did not feel inferior to others. Her dreams were hers, not theirs. If they could do it, so could she.

However, everything crumbled with just a migraine and a devastating diagnosis.

Then, she had also realised that she had only seven more days to live on this Earth. Everything around her became so dull and uninteresting that she wished her mother had never given birth to her.

There were times when she asked herself this question, "How death feels like?"

Doctors had been giving her lots of medication which could retarded the growth of those cancerous cells but those drugs could affect her body adversely. However, she did not care about the effects at all. All she wanted was to live on and fulfill those dreams.

As she saw a new patient being brought into her ward, she noticed how badly wounded he was. His mother was always seen sitting next to his bed while combing his hair with her fingers.

She was jealous of this boy. Her parents had never visited her ever since she was admitted into the hospital. Nobody had visited her, not even her best friends. It seemed as though they were already prepared for her death.

"This boy is suffering from an hereditary eye cornea disease. He will lose his eyesight soon if we can't find the right corneas for his eyes."

Just then, she realised one thing. That boy was worse than her. He would be suffering throughout his life without his vision until he received two suitable corneas transplant whereas she would not suffer that long because her life would be cut short.

He changed her. Without him, she would view her remaining life as boring. Because of him, she wanted to see and hear as much as she could before her time decided to part from her.

That was the day when her jealousy turned into pity.

-:-:-:-

"Hey, are you sure you want to hear about my friends? I have nothing interesting to share about them."

Natsume rested his head on his palm and looked at the girl tiredly. He had been sharing about his life to her and she just wanted to listen to his stories more. He had told her about his school, his 'evil' class chairperson, his noisy female classmates, his father and so on. However, he still did not know a thing about her, except for her disease.

The girl nodded enthusiastically and patted her covers to make herself comfortable. Natsume wanted to laugh at the thought of being her free storyteller but he remained cool about that. He took a sip of plain water and got started on his story.

"My friends have always wanted to talk to you but you were always asleep whenever they paid me a visit."

After hearing that, that girl clasped her hands together and lowered her head as an apology. Natsume bit his lips, trying to hold back his laughter.

"They aren't going to forgive you either," he teased.

The girl gasped and covered her face, pretending to cry. Natsume shook his head with a smirk and told her that he was just kidding with her. It was always like this. Since she could not use sign language to communicate with him, she used common and simple actions to express her emotions and feelings. Moreover, he had already gotten used to her 'weird' actions and was beginning to understand her better.

"If you are going to stay awake till this late afternoon, I can guarantee you that you will see their faces later. They are coming to see me," Natsume added and she smiled excitedly. "Let's start with Ruka then. He is my best friend since elementary school. He is blonde because his mother is Caucasian from Paris while his father is Japanese. He likes animals, especially rabbits."

She cupped her cheeks and her eyes seemed to glitter in awe. Natsume knew this would happen but he just rolled his eyes and sucked the sides of his mouth.

"And he has a weird taste in girls."

She tilted her head to the side and the word 'curious' was written all over her face.

"I think he is interested in you."

Her jaw dropped and her hands fell on her lap as she stared at Natsume, looking extremely shocked.

"Sorry to break this to you, little girl."

She continued to stone there in a dreamy way.

"I was just joking with you."

Then, she broke her stance and puffed up her pale cheeks. She looked so adorable that Natsume felt something churning in his stomach. At the same time, something sharp seemed to have stabbed him inside his chest. He carefully touched his chest and smothered it. It was a strange feeling which he had never felt before.

He straightened himself up and blurted in a slightly harsher tone, "Don't dream too much. They will never like you."

Upon hearing that, the girl just released the air from her mouth and gave him a weak and sad smile. She knew no boys would like her. Nobody would want her for she was dying. She held back her tears and lowered her head.

"Sorry... Maybe... I was..."

His voice was quivering and sounded as if he was trying to hold back his words. She looked up and saw something which made her giggle silently. Natsume was looking out of the window with an uncomfortable look on his face. His cheeks were a little pinkish too.

This was the day when he was beginning to feel an emotion, which he had never experience before, called jealousy.

-:-:-:-

"And there are two more boys- Koko and Kitsuneme. They are the silliest duo but trust me, they are very nice people. If you..."

"Sakura," a nurse interrupted Natsume as she barged into the room. "It is time for your examination."

The nurse bowed to Natsume as an apology for interrupting him and dragged the wheelchair over to the girl. The girl sat on the wheelchair and waved to Natsume. He hesitated for a moment before waving back to her.

"Stupid, we can still see each other again later," he muttered under his breath and gave her a small smile.

However, she did not hear that statement at all and waved to him one more time as the nurse dragged her out of the ward.

Natsume leaned against his pillow and closed his eyes. It was lonely without her in the ward and it was as if talking to her was a great method to pass his time. Life in hospital was boring without that girl.

"Natsume," a voice called out to him.

He turned to look at the door and saw Ruka walking into the ward. His friend placed his bag next to his bed and took out a few stalks of red roses from his bag.

"Here you go. These are given by the girls from our class," Ruka said and placed the roses on Natsume's hand.

Natsume stared blankly at the roses before throwing them aside and made some snorting sounds.

"They will never give up, won't they?"

"Natsume..."

"Girls... Sakura..."

"Sa... Sakura?"

"She has gone again."

* * *

**Hi guys, thanks for reading up to Chapter 4.**

******Next, I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 3. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D**

**************Here are the reviewers:**

******- edwardelric108_  
- _Kuro Karasu Onna  
- Chen  
- Mystique0831  
- lisaOpine  
**

**********Lastly, ****I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story. I am so touched! :'D**

* * *

**************Before you leave this page, don't forget to leave a review! I might update faster if you guys do! Thank you! ;)**


	5. Fifth Sign

**Love at Last Sign**

* * *

Fifth Sign

"Then, she jumped off from the table and did a split in the air before landing on her butt. It was... stupid of her to act like Wonderwoman, don't you think so?"

She covered her mouth and giggled soundlessly.

"Well, that is my sister. She loves Wonderwoman," Natsume said and shook his head with a soft chuckle.

Natsume got out of bed and slowly walked towards the window. It was already late morning and he saw many people sitting at the garden area while chatting with one another. Just then, he had an idea.

He turned to look at his ward mate and asked, "Do you want to take a walk outside? The weather is great today."

The girl beamed and nodded happily. She pulled the cover away from her and got out of bed. She stretched her stiff body and craned her neck a few times, earning a few cracking sound. She walked towards the door and paused. Turning her head around, she looked at Natsume who was still standing next to the window.

"Hey, what about your wheelchair? I thought... you... couldn't walk," he spoke in a confused voice.

That girl shook her head and patted her own chest to show how strong she still was. Upon seeing this, Natsume gave her a small smile and walked towards her.

"Let's go then," he said and swung open the door. "Please remember not to fall down because of your weak limbs, little girl."

With that, it earned him a step on his foot.

-:-:-:-

"Sakura! How are you?" a boy with a pair of round spectacles called out from afar as he approached her. "It has been a few days I have last seen you."

She grinned sheepishly and put her thumb up. The bespectacled boy smiled back and began chatting with her. That boy was also a patient and he wore a knitted scarf around his head. Natsume eyed at the two of them at a side. Both of them seemed familiar with each other and after five minutes or so, Natsume was forgotten by them and that annoyed him. His sole purpose for taking that girl for a walk was so that he could find out more about the things she liked using his observations. However, that bespectacled boy destroyed his plan.

Natsume cleared his throat.

"Ah... sorry!" that bespectacled boy suddenly shouted after noticing Natsume's intimidating glare. "Am I disturbing you guys? I'm really sorry."

"No, it's alright. I think she needs to walk around a little more before she gets fat from not exercising," Natsume said monotonously.

The bespectacled boy looked scared and immediately apologised to Natsume.

The boy took a few steps back and bowed to them before deciding to introduce himself to Natsume, "I'm Yuu Tobita. I am recently transferred to the... the sterile room... and... be... because..."

"I see," Natsume cut in. "You're a cancer patient as well."

The boy looked down sadly and nodded. He bowed to them once more and scurried away. The girl knitted her eyebrows together and pouted. Natsume really did have a bad mouth and always chased people away from him. If only he could treat others like how he treat her...

She immediately blushed at the thought of it. She looked at Natsume, who was looking away, at the corner of her eyes and touched her chest where she could feel the rapid pounding of her heart.

She plucked a red flower among the grasses and gently tapped Natsume's shoulder.

"What?" He turned around, still looking very annoyed and bothered.

She tiptoed and brought the flower upwards, then she stuck it behind his right ear. After that, she grinned and withdrew her hand back to her chest. Natsume lifted his hand up and touched that cute little thing behind his ear.

"You..."

Before he could say anymore, that girl clutched onto his arm with one hand and the other hand pressed against her chest. Without warning, she started coughing and tried to throw up on the grass patch. However, she could not throw up. Instead, her body began to sway while Natsume held onto both of her shoulders to support her.

"Hey! What happened? Are you all right?" Natsume asked worriedly and panicky.

Suddenly, her whole body weakened as she collapsed onto his body with her head resting on his shoulder.

Petrified, he shook her body hard and yelled, "Please say something! Please!"

Unfortunately, there was no response.

-:-:-:-

Feeling bored, Natsume flicked a coin high and caught it with a hand. He wrapped that hand with the other and held it tightly. Feelings of apprehension mounted within him as that girl did not return to their ward since the day before.

Out of the blue, the door swung open and a nurse walked in with a metal tray in her hands. Natsume quickly sat up and called out to the nurse, capturing her attention.

"How is she?" Natsume pointed at the bed opposite him.

"Do you mean Sakura? Oh, she is doing quite fine now but is currently under our observation," the nurse replied with an unconvinced smile.

Natsume frowned and looked back down at his hands. He slowly revealed the coin and his face relaxed.

He closed his eyes tightly and brought the coin closer to his forehead with both hands as he muttered to himself, "She will be all right. She will be..."

"Sakura is the braviest young patient I have ever seen in my twelve years of working as a nurse," she continued in a softer voice. "No matter how painful it is, she still manages to hang on and smile."

"Yeah."

"When we asked her why she is doing these things, she told us that she was doing these for someone."

Natsume opened his eyes and looked at the nurse. The nurse placed the used cotton wools onto the tray and smiled at him.

"She is doing these for you, Hyuuga."

Upon hearing this, he could feel his heart stopped for a while as warmth filled within his chest.

That girl was hanging on and smiling for him...

* * *

**Hi guys, thanks for reading up to Chapter 5.**

******Next, I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 4. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D**

**************Here are the reviewers:**

******- Morganstern15_  
- _Razux  
- edwardelric108  
- Aragaki Yui  
- dancedaze  
- lisaOpine  
- dancedaze  
- Kuro Karasu Onna  
- MelodyKey  
**

**********Lastly, ****I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story. I am so touched! :'D**

* * *

**************Before you leave this page, don't forget to leave a review! Thank you! ;)**


	6. Sixth Sign

**Love at Last Sign**

* * *

Sixth Sign

_"She wrote: Of course, I am scared. I'm scared of anything beyond my knowledge. I want to know what's underneath this earth and above this sky. I want to know if God really exists. If He does exist, then I would want to ask him why there is such a thing called 'death'. Death is probably the scariest thing in my life. I will not know what will happen to me when I die. Will I rest in peace or be reborn again? Will I go to heaven or hell? I know neither of them. I am afraid of dying."_

He pressed his hand against the glass panel and stared at the frail girl who was sleeping peacefully inside the observation room. He wondered how her condition was as he could not get to talk to her anymore. He put his hand back into his side pocket and continued to look at her with no expression drawn on his face.

"It's you again. Hello!" A cheery voice broke his stance.

Natsume turned around and looked at the same boy whom he had met in the garden two days before. The boy was waving to him but he did not wave back. Instead, he shot the boy a look and looked back at the girl.

"What do you want?" Natsume asked.

The bespectacled boy laughed awkwardly and replied, "I want to see how Sakura was doing."

"She's fine."

"I hope so."

"I told you," Natsume repeated. "She's fine."

The bespectacled boy stared at Natsume with wide and shaking eyes and immediately said, "I'm sorry if... if... I offend you in any way before but I... I... really... am concerned about her health."

Natsume snorted and spoke in a nonchalant way, "Why don't you concern about yours first? Aren't you a cancer patient as well?"

"I..."

"Tobita," a nurse called out. "It's time for your blood test."

Without saying a word of farewell, the bespectacled boy left Natsume alone as he followed the nurse into a room. Natsume rolled his eyes and looked back into the observation room. He knew that just by looking at her would not wake her up. He knew her condition was worsening at each passing second, just like his eyesight. Nobody could do anything about her disease, not even the doctors.

"Hyuuga," another nurse called out. "It's time to return back to your ward. Your mother has come to visit you."

Natsume shifted his gaze to the nurse and nodded. Giving the girl one last look, he clenched his fist and mouthed 'I will be back to tell you more stories' to her, though he knew she could not see him doing that.

"Hyuuga..."

"I know."

As he walked along the corridor, he noticed the nurse's back figure began to swirl. He blinked again. However, the same thing happened. Everything around him began to swirl and become blurry. He stopped walking and covered his eyes with his hands.

"Hyuuga, are you..."

"Shut up. I'm okay."

He opened his eyes and looked ahead of him with terror. He saw nothing. Everything was pitch black.

"Help... I can't... see... anything. Help!" he stammered and clutched onto something which he suspected was the nurse's arm.

Of course, anyone would be panicky if this situation occurs to them. Well, Natsume was not the exceptional.

How does it feels like to be blind? He always asked himself this question.

"I'm scared..."

-:-:-:-

"The doctor has prescribed him a bottle of eye drops and a bottle of omega 3 capsules. He must consume the capsules after meals at least three times a day and he must use the eye drops at every four hours interval per day."

"Thank you, Miss."

"We will come back to him again to see the results. However, we must inform you one more last thing... these medicines... we can't guarantee that they can improve his eye condition but we are sure that they can slow down his eyes' deterioration."

"I understand."

"One word of advice, he should not stress his eyes."

He heard those voices again. He knew one of them was his mother while the other one was probably a nurse. He heard footsteps fading away from him and the sound of muffled coughs just right next to him. It was obviously his mother who was sitting next to him.

"Natsume, what were you doing outside the observation room?" He heard her reprimanding him. "You know you should not be there."

He did not reply her.

"Natsume, I don't care if you're sleeping or not, but I still want to know why you were outside the observation room. You cannot walk around too much in this condition of yours."

He still refused to respond to her.

"Natsume, are you really asleep?"

He made a grunting noise and turned his body to another side of the bed.

"Honey..."

"I wanted to see her, Mum. So, I went but she was asleep," Natsume mumbled as he pressed his forehead with his right arm.

"Wh... Who?"

"That stupid donkey... I want to do something for her... by staying by her side."

With that irritating black bind covering his eyes, he wanted to see how his mother looked at him after knowing that her son was actually doing something for a girl. A girl who was neither a stranger nor a friend; she was someone precious to Natsume.

He felt a light and warm touch on his cheek and heard a gentle voice whispering into his ear, "You've grown up, Natsume. That girl... might be waiting for you."

He smiled at his mother while she wrapped her hands around his. In response, he squeezed her hands tightly as he felt something watery trickling down from his nose.

"That is why... she was hanging on for me... so I have to..."

He paused to sniff up the watery liquid back into his nose. His mother brought his head forward and allowed him to rest on her shoulder. There was a short moment of quietude in the ward before he continued.

"I have to do something for her until the day when she has to go."

* * *

**Hi guys, thanks for reading up to Chapter 6.**

******Next, I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 5. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D**

**************Here are the reviewers:**

******_- _Razux  
- Katsuya Sakura Chan  
- SoraSkyward  
- Mystique0831  
- Kuro Karasu Onna  
- Colorful Kitty  
- HazelFlames  
- Guest  
- 3  
- AnimeMango  
**

**********Lastly, ****I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story. I am so touched! :'D**

* * *

**************Random Notes:**

**************1) Gakuen Alice has come to the end! No... I want more... **and I wish there is a part two for it. I want to see Hotaru too! I know what she had done for both Natsume and Mikan, but still... :'(  


**************2) For those who are currently caught in the terrible haze (in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia), do take care of your health and drink lots of water. Try to avoid strenuous activities, if possible. If not, wear a mask while you are outside. Take care!**

**************Before you leave this page, don't forget to leave a review! Thank you! ;)**


	7. Seventh Sign

**Love at Last Sign**

* * *

Seventh Sign

_"As long as there is hope, I will carry on living; I believe in Hope. This is what she wrote."_

She lay weakly on the bed. She was so tired and in pain but she did not want to give up. As long as there was hope, she would hang on.

'Tap!'

She looked up from her intertwined fingers and stared at the two figures standing behind the glass panel. It took her awhile to process the situation before her as her tears watered with joy. She slowly got out of bed and staggered towards the glass panel.

She mouthed 'Mummy' and 'Daddy' excitedly as her tears came flowing out from her eyes. She was happy because she thought that her parents had finally visited her for the first time.

'Tap! Tap!'

She stopped. Her eyes widened in surprise. Her left hand pressed against the glass panel and cried with a small and weak smile.

Natsume had visited her. His eyes were covered with a black bind, which made him looked like a blind man, and his finger was pressing on the glass panel. His mother was standing next to him as well.

The young girl tapped her finger on the panel two times and waited for his reaction. She saw his lips slowly curl up into a small smile.

"I still remember that this is what you did when you tried to communicate with me for the first time," Natsume said. "Now I am doing this. How ironic it is when I got pissed off by that tapping sound at first."

'Tap!'

'Tap! Tap!'

The older woman looked at the two teens with a smile as the two of them began to exchange tapping sounds with each other. The girl was giggling behind the thick layer of glass as she continued to tap on the panel. At the mean time, her son was also busying tapping on the panel and she even caught him chuckling softly to himself.

Natsume wanted to see her facial expressions. Was she smiling? Was she happy because he had came to see her? Was she frowning and pouting because she could not hear his voice due to the panel? He wanted to know her feelings. Slowly, he brought the black bind up to his forehead and opened his eyes.

Bright light shone into his eyes and stung them painfully. He covered his eyes with his arm and gritted his teeth. He told himself that he had to see her face before the nurses caught him removing the bind from his eyes.

'Tap!'

She was calling out for him.

'Tap!'

His arm moved away from his eyes and he slowly opened them again, allowing them to get used to the light. When he finally opened them fully, he caught sight of a girl whose hair seemed to have thinned and cheekbones seemed to have become more prominent than before. Everything about her had changed, except for one thing- her smile.

-:-:-:-

"Sakura, if you insist, this is your report. Though I cannot guarantee that you will be able to live for another three more days, I want you to believe in one thing which is called faith. With your strong faith in God, I am sure he will help you."

The girl nodded weakly and brought both her hands to her chest. Her fingers began to dance together and after the doctor had received her message, he held his breath for awhile and stared at the girl in bewilderment.

"I... I see," the doctor muttered and rubbed his forehead. "Then... I will arranged you for another check-up. If it is positive, I will let you know."

She grinned and she immediately fell back onto her pillow. The doctor picked up his files and walked out of the room. Then, she stared at the empty ceiling for a long time and slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

-:-:-:-

'Tap!'

She heard this sound again. She opened her eyes and stole a glance at the glass panel. It was Natsume again but this time, there was no bind wrapped around his head to cover his eyes.

She was happy to see him. She had so much things to tell him, be it happy or sad things. If only she could speak, it would be so much easier to communicate with him through words, instead of hands and facial expressions.

She saw Natsume push open the door and walked inside the enclosed room. He sat next to her and suddenly let out a soft chuckle.

"What's with your face? You look dazed. You should be happy that I have come to see you," he teased in a monotone.

She was stunned. Did she make an awful face? Was she really in dazed? She could not figure out anything though.

"Anyway, do you know why I am here?" Natsume stared at her in a hope to get a response from her.

Of course, she was curious.

However, she noticed that Natsume looked upset for a brief moment. Then, his facial expression immediately changed back to his usual self. She felt strange. Did she offend him in any ways?

"I want to tell you a story. It is about..."

-:-:-:-

She was in dazed again. There was no smiles and greetings too. She would sit there and stared at him with seemingly empty eyes. She would not moved her hands as well. She looked no different from a poker-faced statue. However, he knew that she was listening to him every time he came and talked to her about the different stories of his life. That was because she would give a slow and slight nod whenever he expressed his opinion about a situation in his story.

"It's already late," Natsume mumbled and let out a yawn. "I have to go back to my ward now or else, those nurses will stop me from visiting you in the future. Good night."

He stood up and walked out of the room. As he closed the door behind him, he took one last look at her.

She was still in dazed.

No, he was wrong. She was moving. Her hands were moving. Her mouth were slightly opened and was mouthing something to him. He stepped closer to the panel and pressed his hands against it with happiness rising within him.

She moved!

Her trembling weak hands slowly raised and was outstretched towards his direction. However, her hands fell back onto the sheets. Fortunately, she did not give up. She raised her hands again and her fingers began to dance like she did on the first day she met him but this time her movements were weak.

Natsume stared blankly at her and asked, "What are you trying to tell me?"

Before he could return back into the observation room, he was being tapped from behind. He turned around and found two nurses standing behind him.

"Hyuuga, it's time for your night check-up."

Natsume took one last look at the girl again, closed his eyes and walked away with the two nurses.

* * *

**Hi guys, thanks for reading up to Chapter 7.**

******Next, I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 6. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D**

**************Here are the reviewers:**

******_- _AnimeMango  
- heart12  
- Colorful Kitty  
- Kuro Karasu Onna  
- lisaOpine  
- scarletvampire0  
**

**********Lastly, ****I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story. I am so touched! :'D**

* * *

**************Before you leave this page, don't forget to leave a review! Thank you! ;)**


	8. Eighth Sign

**Love at Last Sign**

"We have a good news, Natsume!" his mother suddenly shouted as she burst into his ward.

Natsume groaned as he pulled the covers over his forehead.

"Wake up," his mother said sternly and pulled down his covers, causing him to glare at her.

"What?"

"We have a good news for you, son."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"We have found a suitable donor..."

* * *

Eighth Sign

Natsume lay tiredly on his bed with a pair of sunglasses on. He could feel it. He could feel that this pair of corneas was alive.

Of course, they were alive.

However, he could sense that they were gifts from her. It seemed as though her warmth was radiating from them, but he knew it was impossible. There was no way she was the donor. As far as he could remember, she loved to see things.

"Mum, who is the donor again?"

"Mikan Sakura."

"Mikan... Sakura... Eh... Sakura?" Natsume was shocked and stared at his mother with eyes wide opened behind the sunglasses. "Which Sakura?"

"I thought you knew..."

"What?"

"You said that you wanted her corneas! So, I thought you knew about her... her condition."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

His mother grabbed his shoulder and snapped, "You're just lying to yourself. You have to face it!"

"I don't understand..."

"Stop running away from the reality!"

Natsume frowned at her and shoved her hands aside. He was battling with his tears fiercely but his mother could not see it.

"Who is she?"

"Hyuuga," she bellowed. "You knew everything and have to face her death."

Natsume took off his sunglasses and hid his face behind his knees. His tears kept flowing out uncontrollably. It is sad to lose someone whom you hold dearly. It was really devastating.

Yet, he refused to believe that the girl died. Her corneas were breathing and gave his dying eyes life again. Deep inside him, he knew that she was still alive.

-:-:-:-

_"The is what Mikan Sakura told me: I want to be his eyes so that both of us can continue to see places and things that we have yet to see."_

He remembered the nurse's heartwarming words so clearly that he could replay them over and over again inside his dreams. Whenever he thought of them, his heart would ache terribly. That girl had done a lot of things for him and it was his turn to do something for her.

Standing in front of her coffin, he lowered his head and placed his hands together, then prayed silently. He promised her that he would travel around the world to witness many different things. He was very thankful.

"Mikan," a nurse muttered as she stood next to him. "She has brain tumour."

Natsume had figured out about her disease sooner. He just nodded silently.

"A normal teenager who is suffering from brain tumour would have only three to four days to live. However, she was hanging on... for someone."

Natsume looked at the nurse and smiled.

"I know. That is why it is my turn to hang on for her."

The nurse returned him a warm smile and passed him a book.

"Take this. I guess you want to know what she was trying to tell you before we called you for your night check-up," the nurse said.

-:-:-:-

As he flipped through the pages of the book of sign languages, Natsume took out a pen and began scribbling on his textbook. He wrote down the first word which the girl had tried communicating on their first meeting to the last word which he received on their last meeting.

_'Hello. How are you feeling today?'_

_'Hope you are feeling better today!'_

_'Good morning. Do you want to take a look outside the window with me?'_

_'There is something nice outside. Come and see!'_

_'Thank you.'_

As he decoded and wrote the last sentence, his tears began to well up in his eyes again. If only he could understand sign languages, those words would reach him sooner.

"Natsume Hyuuga."

He startled for a moment and stared blankly at his homeroom teacher. His teacher returned him a curious look and frowned.

"Are you crying?"

Natsume immediately blushed and retorted angrily, "Shut up! This classroom is so dusty that it stings my eyes!"

"Oh, I have forgotten that you have recently undergone an eye surgery," his teacher said as he rubbed his chin. "Take care, young man."

Natsume rolled his eyes and looked back down on his textbook. He wiped his tears and chuckled silently to himself.

_'I like you.'_

"I like you too... Mikan."

* * *

**Hi guys, thanks for reading up to the very last chapter.**** I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 7. Thanks for all your support!  
**

**************Here are the reviewers:**

******_- _nix  
- **Mystique0831  
- Mikana-yukihara  
- The 7th Shichibukai  
- HazelFlames  
- heart12  
- Gruesome Deaths  
- lisaOpine  
- MirageRaindrop  


**********A final**** 'thanks' to those who had story alerted and favourited this story. Thank you!**


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